Injector needles



Aug. 1, 1967 RECTOR 3,333,312

INJECTOR NEEDLES Filed March 2, 1965 & A

INVENTOR. (x/41945.5 144 P6670 J M J2 10, WMQW A rive United States Patent 3,333,312 INJECTOR NEEDLES Charles W. Rector, Olympia, Wash. (8311 18th Ave. NW., Seattle, Wash. 98107) Filed Mar. 2, 1965, Ser. No. 436,587 14 Claims. (Cl. 27-21) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention provides a device to be installed in the bone structure of the upper and lower jaws of a corpse, and which when so installed, as by the conventional injector device, will provide tension devices such as Wires, as integral parts of spurs that are themselves integral with pegs, but are joined flexibily to the pegs at the pointed end thereof, by means of which wires, joined together, the jaws are held closed. The arrangement is such that the forces acting upon the joined wires tend to retain the pegs in place rather than to cock them and so to urge them in the direction to withdraw them. The spurs at least, and normally also the pegs, have means such as projecting shoulders that engage the bone structure as barbs to resist withdrawal. The installed devices, and the wire tie joining them, have no portion that projects materially above the bone structure, hence their presence is not noticeable. The devices are inexpensive to make.

Morticians commonly employ what is often termed an injector needle to hold closed the mouth of a corpse. Such a needle as heretofore employed is a fairly short tack of steel that is supplied with a Wire twisted at one end Within a groove beneath its head. Two such needles are driven into the bone structure, one above the upper teeth and the other below the lower teeth, and when so anchored their Wires are twisted together, and hold the jaw and mouth closed. Such a needle and the injector for driving it are shown, for example, in the patents to Cullen, Nos. 2,212,339 and 2,065,659.

Injector needles of this general type have certain disadvantages, as will appear more fully hereinafter, and the present invention has as its general object the provision of an injector needle that is free from such objections, yet can be anchored in place by the same injector, and used in the same way.

More especially, the injector needles of the known type will sometimes penetrate soft or thin bone structure so readily that they may be projected entirely through the same, gouging out a large hole and thereafter failing to serve as a secure anchor for the mouth closing operation. On the other hand, if the bone structure is especially hard or thick, the needle may be bent or deflected, and for such reasons may not hold securely. In any event, although the known needle -has a succession of shouldered cones back from its entering point, which are intended to provide shoulders that will engage the bone structure as barbs to preclude its pulling out, these cones merely open a hole of the diameter of the largest entered shoulder, that does not close behind that or any other shoulder, for there is little or no resilience in the bone structure. The needles, upon being stressed by the pull on the wires that are anchored to their outer ends, tend to pull out. Their rounded sides produce no great resistance to lateral displacement. Although in theory a pull on a wire, transverse to the axis of the needle, will urge the shoulders as barbs laterally into the bone structure, it has been found in practice that such a pull often tends merely to cock the needle from its intended position, and to enlarge the hole in the bone structure, to such an extent that the needles anchorage is destroyed and it will not resist adequately the stress to which the wire is subjected. The tighter the wire is pulled the less adequate is the anchorage. Finally, because the head portion of the known needle must receive the end of the wire, twisted about it, it must stand up somewhat above the bones surface, and may not be driven flush or nearly so, wherefore at times it may cause some noticeable protrusion of the flesh above it, which is undesirable.

The needle of this invention will serve as a secure anchorage regardless of the hardness or softness, the thickness or the thinness, of the bone structure, or of overinjection of the needle, and will hold fast under conditions such as would preclude satisfactory use of the conventional needle. It includes a sharpened peg of suflicient strength to penetrate the bone when driven by the injector plunger, and an integral barbed fin or spur resiliently but strongly joined to the peg and so arranged that the spur only will be stressed laterally by the pull of a wire, and thus will urge its barbs into the bone for good anchorage, but without stress on the peg such as would tend to bend, deflect, displace, or pull out the peg. The peg also may be formed with similar shoulders or barbs, and the stresses in use will tend to urge them laterally into the bone structure, but will not tend to pull the peg from engagement therewith. In addition, the form of the peg is such as will facilitate penetration but will resist lateral displacement, and this form cooperates to urge barbs on the spur, and barbs on the peg, if these are provided, laterally into the bone structure. The barbs, it will be understood, are means to resist outward movement of the spur or of the peg from the hole, and any suitable means to such end may be employed.

In addition the present needle is so constructed that the wire is incorporated integrally with it, and in use assists in the lateral urging of the spur, as described above, and the needle needs no head on the peg for its securement, wherefore the needle may be driven in substantially flush, leaving no possible protrusion. The needle can thus be of shorter length over all, and this in itself lessens the possibility of over-injection. At the same time the structural arrangement of the needlle assures good anchorage, even in the event of over-injection.

The longitudinal shape of the needle of this invention both makesfor easier and faster injection, and resists lateral pull due to tension in the wire. Its cross-sectional shape assists in attaining these ends, and alfords added strength to the needle.

The resiliently supported spur will yield towards the peg to produce a hole of minimum size during injection,

yet it will spread away from the peg under the influence of tension in the wire, to push its barbs and the barbs on the peg, each oppositely and laterally into the bone, for secure anchorage.

The integral incorporation of the wire into the spur may be accomplished in various ways. In some forms the incorporation may be in such manner as to reinforce the interconnection between the spur and its peg.

The construction of the needle is simple and relatively inexpensive as compared with conventional needles, and lends itself to manufacture in quantity from a resilient plastic material, by a molding process, although it may be made in other ways.

Speaking generally, the needle of this invention better fulfills the object which any needle must achieve, namely firm and secure anchorage, whether by sufiicient depth of its penetration alone, or by expansion within its hole whenever sufiicient penetration is unattainable, and at the same time avoids noticeable protrusion above the surface of the bone.

These objects, and others which will appear more fully asthis specification proceeds, are attained by the principles and structures pointed out hereinafter.

The needle that incorporates such principles and attains such objects is shown in the accompanying drawings in forms such as are presently preferred by me. It will be understood that various changes may be made in the structure without departing from such principles.

FIGURE 1 is an enlarged isometric view of a needle incorporating the invention, from one side, and FIG- URE 2 is a like view from the opposite side.

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view, broken back to show one way of incorporating the wire in the needle. FIGURES 4 and 5 are similar views, showing alternative ways.

FIGURE 6 is a further enlarged isometric view of the entering point of the peg, in a preferred form, and FIG- URES 7 and 8 are cross-sections at the lines 7-7 and 83 respectively of FIGURE 6.

FIGURE 9 is an elevational view of such a needle in a conventional injector, broken away to show the needle ready for use.

FIGURE 10 is a central section of a portion of the upper and lower jaw structure of a human corpse, with two needles incorporating this invention in place therein, and their wires joined; the neighboring portions of the face and mouth are outlined in dot-dash lines.

FIGURE 11 is a sectional view somewhat similar to FIGURE 10, but much enlarged.

Referring to FIGURE 10 to make clear how the needle is used and the stresses to which it is subjected in use, a needle N1 has been driven into the bone structure of the lower jaw J1, and a similar needle N2 has been driven into the bone structure of the upper jaw J2, centrally of the dental arch. Provided each such anchorage is secure, the wires W1 and W2 that extend from the respective needles are twisted together, at T, which holds the lower jaw properly closed. The twist at T can be bent over so it is not apparent, and if the needles N1 and N2 do not project, but lie substantially flush with the bone of the jaws, there is no external evidence of the presence of the tie. Clearly, each needle after being driven into place by the plunger P of a conventional injector (FIG- URE 9) A is subjected to some lateral stress as the two wires are twisted together, and unless each needle is securely held in place this lateral stress may displace or cock one or both needles in their respective holes, or tend even to pull them out. If anything of this sort occurs that needle no longer forms a secure anchorage, and the mouth may sag open. The same result may follow failure fully to drive a needle home, or over-injection that drives a needle through the bone structure.

The needle of this invention comprises a peg 1 having a fairly long, sharp point 10 at one end, which facilitates penetration, and a generally flat head 11 to be contacted by the plunger P to effect penetration, while the needle is received within the hollow end of the injectors barrel B, point down. The needle is generally but not completely round in cross-section; preferably its peg has a generally flat longitudinal face 12. Protruding from and resiliently joined at 21 to the peg, at the face 12, is an integral longitudinally directed fin or spur 2. Preferably the spur 2 stands away from the peg 1 when parts are unstressed, to a distance such that the spurs outer surface lies outside a continuation of the round surface of the upper end of the peg, yet the inner surface of the spur is so spaced from the flat surface 12 that the spur can be compressed, by resistance it encounters during driving, to lie closely against that surface 12.

The peg 1 is of gradually increasing diameter from the point 10 to the head 11, although preferably the tip is of rather triangular cross-section, as illustrated in FIGURES 7 and 8, for strength. The needle should taper gradually, but preferably both the peg 1 and the spur 2 are shouldered as shown at 13 and at 23, to constitute barbs to engage the bone structure. It is important that the spur 2 be thus barbed, and although barbs could be omitted from the peg 1, it is much to be preferred that they be present. The needle is preferably of a hard yet somewhat resilient plastic material, and these barbs 13 and 23 may compress somewhat upon being driven into hard bone structure, but will spring out again after pass ing a hard layer, to engage behind the same.

By molding the needle ofhigh impact plastic material, such for example as Delrin or Lexan, it withstands bending or warping under impact, and it is possible to embed within it, and in particular within the spur 2, the roughened or irregular end of a tension member such as a brass wire 3. This effectively secures the wire to the top of the spur without the necessity of leaving a groove about the head of the needle, and consequent extra length and protrusion, merely to provide space for securement of the wire to the needle, and avoids the extra operation of securement of the wire. The wire end may be embedded only in the spur, as in FIGURE 3, or partly also in the peg, as in FIGURE 4, or it may extend past the point 21 where the spur joins the peg, and then upwardly towards or to the head 11, as in FIGURE 5. In all instances the free end of the wire extends from the free upper end of the spur 2. Molding the needle of such plastic material enables the entire needle to be made in one piece by one operation.

In use the needle is received within the barrel B, with the point down and the wire 3, and a portion of the spur 2, projecting into the barrels slot, as in FIGURE 9. The injector is then positioned and operated in the usual manner to drive the peg into the bone structure I1 or J2. If the bone structure is soft, the sharp peg will enter readily, and the head 11 can be driven more or less flush with the bone. If the bone structure is hard, it still can be driven in the same Way and to the same degree. The spur 2, upon encountering resistance, will flex back against flat surface 12, making a hole of minimum size, and of a shape departing from round by reason of the flat shape of the spur, yet the spur will tend to flex outwardly again to embed its barbs 23 laterally in the bone structure. Even if the bone is too hard to permit any outward fiexure of the spur, the entering needles have been so oriented that the flat surfaces 12 of the upper and lower needles face one another, and when the two 'wires 3 are twisted together at T, the tension in these wires pulls each spur laterally, urging them and their barbs outwardly into the bone, as in FIGURE 11, but the fiat and facing surfaces 12 oppose one another, resisting lateral movement of the pegs and preventing cocking of the pegs in their holes. The barbs 23 of the spur 2 are subject to the direct pull of the wires, and react from the lower end of the peg. Because of this reaction it is the more strongly embedded lower end of the peg, not its looser upper end, that the wires tend to pull laterally. This lateral pull on the pegs lower end reacts to urge the barbs 13 at its upper end laterally but oppositely into the bone structure. The tighter the wires are twisted, the more strongly are the needles held in correct disposition. There being no pull directly onto the head of the peg, there is no force other than the slight pull at its lower end at 21 where the spur is joined, tending to tilt the needle, even in the softest bone, and so to pull it out.

Even if the bone structure be so soft that the needle goes completely through it, and hangs free at the inner surface thereof (which is highly unlikely, since the plunger P cannot drive the peg further after the head 11 comes flush with the bone), this needle will still produce a secure anchorage, whereas a conventional needle ordinarily will not. Upon such over-injection the needle will tend to be oriented transversely to its entering hole, because the tension upon its wire communicates through the flexibly supported spur to the point 21 that is generally intermediate the ends of the peg, and not to a point at the end only of the needle. This may tend to pull the spur out through the hole, but the peg will cock transversely of the hole, at the inner side thereof. As a result the cocked peg constitutes an etficient anchorage, and the wire can be tensioned as usual.

Such a needle, if made of molded plastic, is amply strong to resist breaking or bending forces while being driven, for its length can be less than the length of a conventional steel needle, that needs extra length for its protruding head. There is no laterally directed wire below the head to limit the extent of injection. The needles shape can be rather thin and tapering for easy entrance, which by proper shaping in cross-section will still have adequate strength. Being short it will not bend nor break readily, and being of a length shorter than a conventional steel needle it is much less likely to be injected too far, even in thin bone structure for reasons stated above. As already explained, the stressing of the wires by the twist at T only increases the anchorage of the spurs in the bone, and of the peg as well.

The manufacture of such plastic needles is simple and inexpensive, yet they are more than adequate for their intended purpose.

I claim as my invention:

1. An injector needle comprising a peg pointed at its lower end tapering upwardly to its head end, and an integral spur resiliently supported from the peg adjacent the pegs pointed lower end, and directed generally longitudinally towards its head end, said spur when unstressed standing out from the pegs upper head end, means on said spur at least, resisting movement of the spur and peg from the hole into which it has been driven, and a tension member secured to and extending from the upper end of the spur, independently of the peg.

2. An injector needle as in claim 1, wherein the spur is of molded plastic material, and the tension member is embedded therein.

3. An injector needle as in claim 1, wherein the outer surface of the peg also has means formed thereon to resist withdrawal movement from the hole whereinto it has been driven.

4. An injector needle as in claim 1, wherein the spur is of a length to extend substantially to the head end of the peg, the tension member being integrally secured to the spur and extending from the spurs outer end.

5. An injector needle as in claim 1, wherein shoulders are formed on the outer longitudinal edge of the spur, facing upwardly, constituting the means resisting withdrawal movement.

6. An injector needle as in claim 5, the peg also being formed with shoulders on its outer surface, also facing upwardly, to assist the shoulders on the spur in resisting withdrawal movement.

7'. An injector needle as in claim 1, the peg having a longitudinally directed generally flat surface, the spur being joined to the peg adjacent the lower end of said flat surface, and when flexed during injection approaching such flat surface.

8. An injector needle as in claim 7, including shoulders formed on the spurs outer longitudinal edge, facing upwardly, constituting the means to resist withdrawal movement of the spur and peg.

9. An injector needle as in claim 8, including shoulders formed on its surface other than the flat surface, also facing upwardly, and constituting part of the means to resist Withdrawal movement.

1%. An injector needle as in claim 1, of molded and somewhat resilient plastic material, and a wire embedded in the spur and extending beyond the upper end thereof, constituting the tension member.

11. An injector needle as in claim 10, 'wherein the embedded end of the wire extends past the point where the spur joins the peg, and into the latter.

12. An injector needle as in claim 11, wherein the wire within the peg extends upwardly to the vicinity of its upper head end.

13. An injector needle comprising a peg pointed at its lower end and tapering upwardly to its head end, said peg being of generally round cross-section, flattened at one longitudinal face, a spur resiliently joined to the peg adjacent the lower end of its flattened face, and extending upwardly towards and when unstressed being spaced from the head end of the peg, a tension member joined to and extending from the upper end of the spur, and barbs facing upwardly along the outer longitudinal edge of the spur.

14. An injector needle as in claim 13, including barbs facing upwardly from the rounded surface of the peg.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,065,659 12/1936 Cullen 2'7-21 2,374,740 5/1945 Gadow 23 X 3,205,553 9/1965 Pfeifer 27-21 RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner. W. E. KAMM, Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN INJECTOR NEEDLE COMPRISING A PEG POINTED AT ITS LOWER END TAPERING UPWARDLY TO ITS HEAD END, AND AN INTEGRAL SPUR RESILIENTLY SUPPORTED FROM THE PEG ADJACENT THE PEG''S POINTED LOWER END, AND DIRECTED GENERALLY, LONGITUDINALLY TOWARDS ITS HEAD END, SAID SPUR WHEN UNSTRESSED STANDING OUT FROM THE PEG''S UPPER HEAD END, MEANS ON SAID SPUR AT LEAST, RESISTING MOVEMENT OF THE SPUR AND PEG FROM THE HOLE INTO WHICH IT HAS BEEN DRIVEN, AND A TENSION MEMBER SECURED TO AND EXTENDING FROM THE UPPER END OF THE SPUR, INDEPENDENTLY OF THE PEG. 